The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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4 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW T he nameplates change. The faces change. Michigan's goal remains the same: put the toughest, hardest-edged football team on the field, every game. No exceptions. No excuses. When your program has won more football games than any in the history of the college sport, there's no reason to think differently. Kyle Whittingham gets it. He em- braces it. The Utah football icon for more than two decades jumped at the chance to be the boss of The Big House. More than that, he leaped at the opportunity to get on the hottest stage in all of college football and try to nail down a national championship. Think he's at all intimidated by the prospect? Think again. Whittingham stared down Jim Harbaugh in Har- baugh's Michigan coaching debut — and won. He's taken on countless other top-level squads and come out victorious. He ditched Utes red for Michigan blue without even a glance back. Now the 66-year-old feels like a 26-year-old when it comes to getting after it at this level of competition. "It's awesome to be here," Whittingham stressed. "I mean, this place is incredible. The athletes you have to work with. The tradition. The resources. "I mean, it's all here. And so, it's a great opportunity, great challenge at the same time. The competition, obviously — the bar's been raised in that respect in every area, recruiting, everything. But this is one of the pinnacles of college football." Michigan reached the pinnacle just two years ago. But in the wake of Harbaugh's departure, it spun down into first under- achieving, and finally becoming the butt of a very bad joke last December. Whit- tingham changed all that — instantly. The Wolverines picked off not only a hugely successful, deeply experienced, extremely respected head coach, but an entire crew — from coordinators Jason Beck and Jay Hill to strength and conditioning guru Doug El- isaia, offensive line coach Jim Harding, etc. — that rates among the best in the business. Their emphasis makes even the statue outside the entrance to Schembechler Hall break into a grin. "We want to be mentally and physically tough," Whittingham assured. "And when you come to play us, you know you've been in for a physical contest." The new staff in Ann Arbor aches to be in a championship battle at some point. It may not come this fall, while they're still putting all the pieces together. Then again, don't count them out for at least a shot at the Playoff. They're looking around at a level of talent that's next level, in many ways. And the opportunity? Just give us a shot, they say. "That was the biggest thing," Beck said, regarding the gravitational pull toward the winged helmet. "Michigan is a place that, if you sat down and looked at who could really have a chance to put it all together and win the whole thing, Michigan is one of those schools. There are probably 12 schools in the country that really have that. "That's what kind of made it the no- brainer opportunity to be here, with the talent, the opportunity to have that type of season." The type of season this one becomes has everything to do with what hap- pens the rest of the summer, according to someone who reached the top of the mountain in 1997. Jon Jansen insists Michigan's autumn excellence will be determined by summer sweat. "The ceiling is the College Football Playoff," Jansen said. "I don't know if that means they win a national championship. They've got the tal- ent. There are a lot of variables in- volved, and some of them we don't even know about right now. They've got the talent, they've got the depth. Curt Cignetti has kind of thrown out the you can't do it with a new sys- tem argument. He didn't win it in Year 1, but he won it in Year 2. "Coach Whittingham is inheriting much more talent than Cignetti did in Bloomington. He brought some guys. With the freshman class and the transfers, over half your roster is new, to this offense, to this building, to Michigan football. How do you get those guys to jell and become a team? It goes back to setting those expectations. "So, the ceiling is College Football Play- off. The better question — one I don't have an answer for yet — is when you get into fall camp, what work has been done be- tween now and fall camp? That is what is going to give you the access to the ceiling. Right now, we know what the floor could be. The floor is probably seven wins. That goes with the schedule, the health of other rosters, the health of our roster." Here's what he does know. "All the best coaches I've been around, their way is non-negotiable," Jansen said. "I like the fact that Coach Whittingham has set an expectation for the players of going to class, being on time, no cell phones in meetings, doing all the little things. It sets a tone, and they're non-negotiable." Leaders and best. That's non-negotiable as well. If you don't meet the standard, you find out fast. This crew doesn't just hope to meet it, but expects to do so. ❏ WOLVERINE WATCH JOHN BORTON Schedule Is Tough, But Michigan Will Be Tougher Senior writer John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @JB_Wolverine. New head coach Kyle Whittingham calls Michigan "one of the pinnacles of college football." PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL